Rome
wasn’t built in a day! If you’ve ever come across a project manager in your career, chances are methodical planning is part of their tool belt. Planning is a necessary and critical step of the project management process but does successful planning ensure a successful project? Whether you are an accountant or a marketing executive, project management probably makes up some component of your day. Most seasoned project managers will say if you fail to plan then you’re planning to fail, however project management starts where planning ends.
So what else can you do to make our projects successful? In my experience projects are all about people. Sure there are action items that need to be executed, deliverables that need to be met, and milestones that need to be achieved. However, what it all boils down to is people interacting with people.
Becoming comfortable with your client will help bridge the communication path. Interaction with the client is critical as it facilitates both of you working towards the same scope of the project. Certain project managers encourage daily communication with their clients to help foster this relationship. Will your client want to know daily details of what you are doing? Perhaps some will and some won’t, but consistent communication can uncover problems and misinterpretations more quickly and easily than periodic meetings. Some clients can be more challenging to work with, but finding common ground and comfort with them, will enable you to experience a smoother client relationship.
Effective project leaders have the ability to make others feel like they are a part of the solution instead of it being imposed upon them. Communication within a team can be tricky as managers walk a fine line from dictating orders to letting autonomy run wild. Team meetings work best when the group feels a consensus has emerged amongst proposed solutions on table. A team that feels they have had a vested impact in the decision making process of the project will feel more accountable than those just following orders.
The greatest managers are facilitators of success. They are able to uncover what their team needs to be successful and gives it to them. Project teams are composed of people with different skills, talents and ideas. The days where one can manage a team with a cookie cutter approach are over. Knowing your team’s strengths and what each member needs to their job well will not only help you get the project completed in time and on budget, but also lead to a team that’s happy to work with you.
In any aspect of life problems will arise at the most inopportune times and the projects you work on are just as susceptible. Although we can’t guarantee a challenging situation won’t arise in your project, you can influence the way you address these situations. The team will look to you for guidance, and your actions from here on in will determine if this problem becomes a hurdle, or the point where your project falls apart. So how should one best cope when a crisis arises in the midst of their project? First get clear on where you are and where you need to be. Identifying the gap is critical, because you’ll need to be able to measure where you need to be, to get the project back on track. Meetings with the client should always focus on the future not the past. Your client doesn’t want to know why things are the way they are, as much as they want to know when things will be as they expected. Focusing the team on the solution will keep everyone’s attention on track and minimize the lapse in your timeline.
Imran Pirani (pirani2003@sympatico.ca) has experience in Consulting and Project Management for Fortune 500 companies with particular focus on cost reduction and driving innovative solutions to ensure optimal business performance for clients.
